Hunting a Midlands monster
A special place, a special trophy...
The common reedbuck occurs widely in many parts of Southern Africa. Countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique are known for their good reedbuck populations. The only problem with reedbuck hunting is to find a place where you can shoot a huge trophy ram.
One of the prime spots for reedbuck in South Africa is the Natal Midlands. Hunting a monster reedbuck ram has been on my bucket list for some time and the hunt became a reality when I met Adrian Salter, the owner of Adroda Hunting Safaris. He has numerous hunting concessions throughout Southern Africa, but his main focus is on hunting the Natal Midlands.
Bowhunting is my passion and the idea was to try for a reedbuck trophy with my bow. However, due to the open country that reedbuck usually inhabit, I knew that my chances would be slim to hunt a ram on foot. Therefore I also took along my Blaser R8 rifle, chambered for the .375 H&H cartridge. I know a .375 H&H is overkill on a medium-size antelope but this rifle is the only one I own right now. I have used the R8
for some time and since I am familiar with the trajectory of the 300gr Rhino bullets that I use (muzzle velocity 2 350fps) I was confident that I would be able to use the .375 H&H well beyond 200m.
I arrived at Adrian’s place on a windy day in late August 2017. The first afternoon proved to be very fruitful – I managed to shoot a bushbuck with my bow. That evening we discussed tactics for the next day’s hunt.
READY TO HUNT
We had coffee and rusks early the next morning and left for the hunting concession at sunrise. We met Adrian’s friend, Dan, 20 minutes later at the property we were about to hunt. It was bitterly cold, one of the coldest mornings I had experienced in a long time.
We drove to a spot from where we had a good vantage point to glass the valleys for any signs of reedbuck. We were hoping that the cold would drive them out into the sun. Soon we spotted a brute of a ram, sporting good horns with massive bases. However, due to the open terrain there was no way that we could stalk closer without being spotted. We glassed the valleys for about a half an hour before spotting a ram that was bedded down. He was in a more favourable position so we started stalking him. We got to within a 100 yards, but that is a very long shot with a bow and I was not prepared to take risky shots so early in the hunt. Anyway, a female spotted us and ruined any plans of trying to get closer to the ram.
We spent a large part of the morning glassing the rolling country for another ram in a favourable position. We bumped into a good ram but he moved off just as I was about to release an arrow.
At about 10 o’clock we were close to the spot where we started the hunt earlier that morning, that’s when we spotted yet another ram. He was a monster that suddenly rose from his bed. He was about 400m away but we could see that this ram was a trophy of a lifetime. Unfortunately the ram was in a spot where there was almost no cover. Adrian, Dan and I leopard crawled flat on our bellies for almost 250 yards through »
I did not initially plan on using my rifle, but I have learnt that hunters sometimes have to capitalise on unexpected opportunities.
» a pasture. After about an hour we were 120 yards from the ram but he either spotted or scented us. He did not run off, but being aware of us, he had us pinned down. We lay flat in the grass, hoping that the ram would settle down again. After ten minutes we moved again and were lucky to get within 80 yards. The ram was moving but stopped. I nocked an arrow and let fly, but I immediately knew it was a bad shot. I watched as my arrow cleared his back.
He ran a few yards before stopping at 102 yards. That is an extreme distance for a bow but I have prepared well and knew that I could make the shot. The ram faced us head on which made the target smaller but I was confident as I squeezed the trigger. The arrow’s arch was perfect and I was waiting for it to hit home. It was like watching something in slow motion. Then it happened... a sudden strong gust of wind from the left pushed my arrow wide at the last moment. I could not believe my bad luck.
The ram had had enough of us; he took off and crossed a valley. Adrian said he knew where the animal was heading and after also picking up my Blaser R8 we moved into position, hoping to get another glimpse of the ram. He had moved into a very open area and by the time we spotted him, he had bedded down again. We tried our best to get within bow shooting range but without cover it was impossible and we once again only managed to spook him. As the reedbuck took off Adrian warned me that the ram was heading for the neighbour’s property and that reedbuck do not have any problems clearing the low stock fence that marks the border. Adrian also said that the ram would probably only return after a couple of days. I put my bow aside and reached for the Blaser, chambered a round and prayed that the ram would stop before clearing the fence.
For once luck was on my side. The reedbuck stopped about 10 yards from the fence. By then I was in a comfortable shooting position. There was no time to range the animal but I knew he was somewhere between 210 and 250 yards away. The crosshairs settled on top of his back in line with his shoulder and I squeezed the trigger. About a second or so later the sound of a solid hit reached our ears.
The ram spun around three or four times, then went down. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what had just hap- pened. We gave the ram a minute or two before moving closer. When we reached the reedbuck the size of his horns left us speechless. Adrian was the first to recover his voice. He told me it was the biggest reedbuck ram he had ever hunted with a client.
We admired the great ram for a very long time and took lots of pictures. The ram was well past his prime, his horns had massive bases and when we later measured the horns the longest one stretched the tape to 17⅜”! It was indeed a trophy of a lifetime and one of the biggest reed- buck rams taken in South Africa in recent years.
NOT THE PLAN
For two more full days we hunted with the bow but failed. It certainly was not due to a lack of good rams, we simply could not manage to stalk within bow range. I will be back later this year to give it another try.
I did not initially plan on using my rifle, but I have learnt that hunters sometimes have to capitalise on unexpected opportunities. My Blaser R8 is accurate with the 300gr Rhino bullets and being familiar with the bullet’s trajectory, I did not hesitate taking the shot at the reedbuck. On the same hunt I shot a blesbuck at 260 yards with a perfect heart shot and a zebra at 300 yards.
I want to say thank you to Adrian Salter for the opportunity to hunt on his concessions. It was a special hunt which I will always remember. I am also grateful to Dan (Daniel) Greene for his help.
The Natal Midlands is a beautiful part of South Africa. This was my first trip to the Midlands and it won’t be my last. If you haven’t been there, make a plan! I highly recommend this area.